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Jun 30, 2017 at 3:07 PMJun 30, 2017 at 3:07 PM

In the California desert, the report concluded, military missions and environmental health are, in fact, intertwined.

New demands on once-remote lands could threaten to constrain military operations here in the California desert, where about 80 percent of such activities occur on federally owned ground, according to a new study.

But the ability for military installations in the region, such as Fort Irwin, to conduct meaningful training doesn't have to be at odds with these particular demands, which include the influx of renewable energy and mining projects.

Nor is it mutually exclusive to protection of the desert ecosystem, according to Ian Dowdy, director of the Sun Corridor Program at the Sonoran Institute, which authored a comprehensive report on the role of federal desert lands in future military operations.

In the California desert, the report concluded, military missions and environmental health are, in fact, intertwined.

Released in mid-June, the report set out with the mission to inform both military and conservation communities about where their interests might align so that they could work together, Dowdy said.

"If you're in Fort Irwin, and you're the Defenders of Wildlife (a wildlife protection group)," Dowdy said, in reference to two distinct parties, "can you sit down and look at a map together and say, 'hey, I think this area is important to both of us? ... Absolutely."

He added that military officials — which were involved with the report in some capacity — "absolutely get" the need for peaceful co-existence between their operations and wildlife and desert protections.

"What we've observed is the military is wanting to work closer with the environmentalists," he said, "and have as small of an impact as they can."

The Mojave Desert Land Trust, a Joshua Tree-based Mojave Desert protection group, partners with the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms — a collaboration "built on the idea that by protecting wildlife corridors, we also protect the installation's training ability," according to Frazier Haney, conservation director for the land trust.

"We are now working together on a five-year plan to continue to align our land protection efforts," Haney said in an email. "This is the kind of success the Sonoran Institute report shows — that by protecting land around military installations through smart land use — we also protect the effectiveness of those installations to train our armed forces."

For each installation reviewed in the report, the Sonoran Institute makes recommendations on how military officials might seek to respond to current or foreseeable encroachment threats due to new development.

At Fort Irwin, the sustainability of water resources in the area is called out as a concern as incremental and persistent urban development occurs and renewable energy projects get underway.

The report recommends base officials engage in a regional dialogue with other land use agencies and continue to evaluate new renewable energy projects.

Other noted concerns include new electrical transmission infrastructure near the National Training Center; mining operations where blasts, noise and electromagnetic interference could impair military exercises; and recreational activities like off-road vehicle use, to ensure motorists respect the base's boundaries.

The report's authors also suggest that Fort Irwin officials continue participating in planning and activities that serve to protect threatened and endangered species such as the Mojave Desert tortoise and the Mohave ground squirrel.

"The report shows how bases like Fort Irwin can benefit from protection of public lands from inappropriate development," Haney said. "By protecting the desert ecosystem, we also protect the training function of the installation."

Shea Johnson can be reached at 760-955-5368 or SJohnson@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DP_Shea.

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